Podcast: 1-on-1 Ft. Princeton coach Chris Bates

When Chris Bates took over the Princeton Tigers after longtime coach Bill Tierney's surprising departure to Denver last summer, he admitted that he didn't really know any of the players. So while Princeton returned a nice nucleus of talent this year with guys like Jack McBride, Tyler Fiorito and Chad Wiedmaier, and brought in some solid new guys in redshirt freshman Mike Chanenchuk and freshman Jeff Froccaro, no one really knew what to expect from the Tigers in 2010.

Princeton racked up an 11-4 regular season record in taking the Ivy League Tournament championship and landed the No. 6 seed to the NCAA Tournament, where they host Notre Dame at 2:30 Sunday afternoon, live on ESPNU. Bates chatted with IL on Tuesday to talk about the Tigers' thrilling OT victory over Cornell in the Ivy title game, his transition in his first year at Princeton, the development this season of guys like Chanenchuk, Froccaro and Rob Engelke and his expectations for the postseason.

The Dartmouth grad has gone through a nearly seamless transition back in the Ivy League after 10 years as the head coach at Drexel. If the Tigers can beat the Irish, they get a home Quarterfinal game at Princeton Stadium against the winner of No. 3-seeded Maryland and Hofstra.

Be sure to listen to my other recent 1-on-1 podcasts, AND check back next week for a conversation with actor Peter Dante, a former Hofstra laxer who's appeared in such movies as Grandma's Boy, Big Daddy and The Waterboy. Click here too access all of Inside Lacrosse's Podcasts via Itunes.